It's Banned Books Week. Here's a List of Black Books that have been banned that you need to read

Did you know that this week is Banned Books Week? 

Books are banned in various places for a lot of reasons, some are legitimate, but most aren’t. For example, what just happened with Central York School District here in Pennsylvania when they tried to ban books like:
 
Hair Love by Matthew Cherry 
Sulwe By Lupita N’yongo 
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
Little Leaders by Vashti Harrison
I am Enough by Grace Byers

among many other children’s books that tout representation. Did you know that the Afro Latinx version of Spiderman, Miles Morales: Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds & Kadir Nelson is also banned?)

Here are a few of my own personal favorite Black Banned Books that are literally classics (like did you know that books by the one and only Maya Angelou have been banned almost every year since their publication?)
  • Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)
  • I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969)
  • The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970)
  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)
  • Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)
  • Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952)
  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982)
  • Black Boy by Richard Wright (1945)
  • The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley (1965)
For those looking for something a bit more modern, here are a few newly banned books definitely worth the read: 
  • The Hate U Give Angie Thomas & Nikki Giovanni 
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D Taylor
  • Watch Us Rise Renee Watson & Ellen Hagan
  • This Is My America by Kim Johnson
  • Clap When You Land Elizabeth Acevedo
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning Jason Reynolds & Ibram Kendi
So tell me, what is your favorite Banned Book?

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